Miami Tarpon Action Is Fast And Furious!
The New Year has started off on a very positive note with tarpon being the most reliable catch. The action has been hot and furious on every evening that I've fished. This action should continue throughout the entire season from now till the end of June and with some luck the first week of July.
The Green Family, Harry, Tami, their daughter Holley along with Holley's boyfriend, Reid Coley spent half a day fishing in the afternoon. The first action we saw was a kingfish on the downrigger. We had good north current and the water color was decent. We had to wait a while for our next strike, however, our patience paid off when Harry watched the bow flatline get hit and the fish came charging toward the boat before veering off and making a very long run. The sailfish finally showed itself with a series of tremendous jumps. At that point, Harry turned the rod over to Reid and the fight was on. There were lots of jumps, long runs, and some sounding done by this very large sailfish. Reid kept the pressure up while everyone else marveled at the size and strength of the fish. Lots of pictures were taken before the fish finally gave in to Reid relentless pressure. More pictures were taken and the fish was released. A quick measurement on the boat side showed the fish at a very nice 7 foot 8 inches total length.
Jamie Rivero is a tarpon enthusiast at heart. It always amazes and thrills him when he gets to fight his favorite fish. Our first two drifts produced two strikes. One gave us our hook back and the other put on a great leaping show at boat side. The action slowed for a little while and then got hot again. Once again, we had two strikes on two drifts. As if a carbon copy of our first series, the first fish was dumping line off the reel at an alarming rate before jumping several times and giving us our hook back. The second strike hooked up solid and Jamie was all smiles as this fish also put on a great aerial display at boat side while I was shining a spotlight on the feisty tarpon. The sight of a fish jumping and throwing water and sprayed every where is one that is not soon forgotten.
Mark Davis from the Big Water Adventures TV Show and I go back a long ways. He came down to shoot a show featuring the great tarpon fishery that we have in Miami. His timing was perfect. Before getting into the tarpon, we spent several hours offshore during the late morning and early afternoon. Conditions were less than ideal; however, the show got off to a good start when a 25# bull dolphin ate both baits that we had flying from the kite. We ran in, got a quick bite to eat, regrouped our tackle, and went back out in search of our main goal the tarpon. On the second drift, we got ‘em on, for 4 jumps and a thrown hook. Then the fish shut down for a while. I worked the entire length of the Haulover Tarpon Hole before we found one out deeper than the fish have normally been holding. Everything went fine and we got lots of film footage. After moving all the way to the far end of the Hole, the action turned on. Another very feisty tarpon made lots of jumps for the camera. Another drift and the big boy of the evening had Mark working hard to keep up with the fish. The cameras kept rolling, Mark kept fighting, and I was very busy with maneuvering the boat while the tarpon did everything it could to try and get away. With all the success of the first evening, we called it a night and made plans for the next evening's Bay tarpon trip.
The next evening we got to our location just as the leading edge of a cold front was passing through. We waited out the rain and wind while hiding under a bridge. As soon as it passed through, the skies cleared and the wind switched to the NW and conditions got perfect for what we were trying to accomplish. To quickly sum up the action, we had 6 fish on in a time frame of 1 hour and 20 minutes before it started to rain again and we said we had more than enough action for the show. As soon as I'm given the dates for when the show is to be aired, I'll be sure and pass the info on in my report.
The tarpon action is great. Give me a call at 305 965-9454 or email me at nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your evening tarpon trip and test your angling skills with the strength and power of the beautiful Silver King.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
